George McLeod clears the Stonington hut (Photo: Mike Fleet)
Stonington Ski Slope
Skiing on Stonington Island was very limited. With a maximum elevation of 25m (Anemometer Hill) and only some of this height was available for skiing. So skiing was very limited, but it was just outside our back door and popular. The alternative was a long trudge up Northeast Glacier.
After a while I noticed somebody had built a take off ramp at the bottom of the ski run, so small jumps became possible. Not quite up to Lillehammer standard, but not bad in the circumstances.
During my time Down South I had built several igloos and had learned that with the right kind of snow (hard packed wind blown snow which you could stand on) was a perfect building medium, and could be easily cut with a saw into building blocks. So I decided to extend the ski slope upwards which enabled a greater take off speed to be attained.
So much so that George could now comfortably clear the base hut – and the Stonington hut was a two storey building. And of course I have genuine photographic evidence – see above. I wonder if any other FIDS have achieved this.
Mike Fleet, Geologist – Hope Bay, 1962, Stonington 1963